Will China Dominate Mobile Robotics?

Wednesday 17 August 2011, Amsterdam

Will China challenge and then dominate the developing mobile robotics and sensors and payloads markets just as it has the consumer appliance and electronics markets? This is a question that many vendors, policy makers, market watchers and of course users should be asking themselves now and not later as they watch China's consistently increasing footprint in this rapidly evolving multi-technology sector.

According to Leonard Zuga, Lead Robotics Analyst, and author of a new research report titled: Global Mobile Defense Rescue & Security Robots - Sensors & Payloads: Markets & Technologies Outlook - 2012-2017 (available on ASDReports.com), this is exactly where the market is heading. Zuga says: "The wholesale off-shoring of the electronics industrial base by the West to Asia has enabled especially China to rapidly climb the value added systems capability ladder in complexity of design, development and production of advanced electronics while taking advantage of global demand for ever more capable yet cheaper high tech products," and he adds: "The necessity of Western use of COTS components and a robust global distribution system have been the enablers for the 'China Price' of electronics components being driven ever downward while technology transfer has steadily increased China's high tech design and manufacturing capabilities."

China's history of robust state sponsorship of technology development leaves no doubt that, especially in view of its space exploration and aerospace manufacturing needs, China's overall robotics industry will soon become a formidable global contender. It is no surprise that China has already demonstrated its emerging UGV capabilities and is the latest contender in the market with a rapidly growing international customer base in lower cost but entirely effective defense and aerospace equipment. China displayed a number of indigenous UGVs at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2010. Given this jump-start for a product that could have been employed in the Fukushima nuclear disaster, China's challenge in mobile robotics markets will take much less than the two to three decades it took to conquer consumer electronics.

The 60 kg Snow Leopard 3 is designed to function in radioactive environments. It can operate for two hours over a maximum controlled distance of 1 km, travelling at a speed of 3 m/min.
If you are a government policy maker, payload vendor, payload operator, business leader or business developer in the UGV market this report will provide you with reasoned insight about evolving (and declining) players in the robotics payload market, and will educate you on major technologies and markets that will completely change your competitive environment.

The report covers, among others:
. Analysis and forecast of evolving markets and technologies
. Operational Concepts
. Military, Law Enforcement and First Responder and Rescue Robot Needs and Technology gaps
. Supply chain issues and vulnerabilities
. Imaging sensors
. Effectors
. Other Sensors
. Global Demands by Region and Country
. Future Civil Applications
. Innovative vendors and Selected Regional Consortia, R&D Institutions and Advocacy Organizations.